Stock picks from 5 pros

With economic uncertainty near an all-time high, we sought the advice of some of the smartest market watchers we know.

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Susan Kempler

Susan Kempler is a portfolio manager for the giant TIAA -CREF organization, which invests nearly $400 billion of retirement plan assets.

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Next year's investing outlook

Stock picks: Discovery Communications, Scripps Networks , Time Warner

I'd like to throw out a couple of names that aren't seen as the typical global competitors, but that are household names, if you think about it a little differently: Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks. And I'll even include Time Warner [parent of Fortune's publisher].

These stocks are all global competitors, and they're going to benefit from the proliferation of channels internationally.

Look at Discovery Networks. It's not a household name, but it has the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, Animal Planet. And it's got phenomenal programming -- shows like Meerkat Manor. A soap opera starring meerkats -- how great is that? And how easy is that to export? All you have to do is change the narration.

Scripps Networks has the Food Channel and Home & Garden Television. Time Warner has CNN and a lot of cable networks.

Excerpted from a roundtable interview with Geoff Colvin

NEXT: Barry Ritholtz